Out of Town

I’ll be on the road all day today (Wednesday), and will be unable to blog. But while I’m away, here are some blog entries from some of my fellow Pagan bloggers you should be reading (call it a mini-Pagan Carnival if you want to).

Jay Allen at The Pagan Bodhisattva is reviewing Joyce and River Higginbotham’s “Pagan Spirituality” in an ongoing series of posts. Parts one and two are up already.

Chas Clifton lets us in on the papers being presented for the Pagan Studies session of the annual meeting of the American Academy of Religion.

T. Thorn Coyle reports on the health of Cora Anderson (prayers are welcomed), and reminds us that Tuesday was the anniversary of Joan of Arc being burned at the stake.

Cat Chapin-Bishop discusses the strengths of Pagan community (and how it relates to Quaker notions of community).

Finally, two reviews of Elf Fest at the Lothlorien Nature Sanctuary. One postive from Kukla_tko42, and one rather scathingly negative from J. Brad Hicks.

That’s it for now, regular posting should resume on Thursday.

Armstrong’s Axial Obsession

Salon’s Steve Paulson interviews “freelance monotheist”, author, and former nun Karen Armstrong. The interview focuses on Armstrong’s latest book “The Great Transformation : The Beginning of Our Religious Traditions”, which looks at the Axial Age of religion (800 BCE to 200 BCE) and the impact that time has had on our modern religious world. But despite how “freelance” she is, her subtle prejudices against any concept or religion that formed from European paganism is evident.

“From about 900 to 200 BCE, the traditions that have continued to nourish humanity either came into being or had their roots in four distinct regions of the world. So you had Confucianism and Daoism in China; Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism in India; monotheism in Israel; and philosophical rationalism in Greece…all these sages, with the exception of the Greeks, posited a counter-ideology to the violence of their time.”

Armstrong, despite her rebellious image, still holds onto the outmoded belief that monotheism is an advancement over polytheism (she believes that Buddhism is a monotheist religion). Armstrong also implies that belief in gendered divinity is immature and akin to believing in Santa Claus.

“…the great theologians in Judaism, Christianity and Islam say you begin with the idea of a god who is personal. But God transcends personality as God transcends every other human characteristic, such as gender. If we get stuck there, this is very immature. Very often people hear about God at about the same time as they’re learning about Santa Claus. And their ideas about Santa Claus mature and change in time, but their idea of God remains infantile.”

While her comment on gender was no doubt aimed at Christians and Muslims, it could just as easily apply to modern Pagans who honor several gendered divinities. Armstrong’s “solution” to the current religion “problem” would be for all of us to be like her – to become “freelance monotheists” melding Buddhist and Christian (and maybe a little Hindu for spice) thought. While this makes her on the outs with the current monotheist power structure, it also places her at odds with much of modern (and ancient) Paganism. Armstrong, in the end, is only slightly better than the fundamentalists who would like to see our faiths quashed. She simply holds the carrot of tolerance and ecumenical harmony, while her counterparts hold the stick of damnation and oppression.

No Honor For Pagans on Memorial Day?

The ongoing struggle for Pagan veterans to receive a marker of their faith on a tombstone or plaque continues. Today is Memorial Day, a day set aside to honor those fallen in service, a day when Pagan soldiers like Sgt. Patrick Stewart who died serving in Afghanistan should be given fullest tribute. Instead his memorial plaque remains blank, because his wish to have an emblem of his Wiccan faith is tied up in government bureaucracy and politics.

“It’s been horrifying and disgusting. I didn’t think my country would torture me by not allowing me to put my husband to rest. He’s a soldier. He and John Flynn gave their live to save 30 men. He took an oath to uphold the constitution of the U.S. It’ll be a sad day to have a blank concrete spot on the Memorial wall” – Roberta Stewart, wife of Sgt. Patrick Stewart

If our government will allow this ongoing dishonor to one of our own, how can it claim to honor those who serve our country on this day? Instead of honor, it changes policy, and drags its heels so that Stewart and future Pagans and Heathens who have served our country will not be given full honors, their graves unmarked, our family of faith’s contribution to this country unremembered.

“The grave of the Korean War veteran who died in November remains unmarked. There continues to be a blank spot on the wall of the Veterans Memorial in Nevada where Sgt. Stewart’s plaque will go. And, there is another widow associated with Circle Sanctuary that wants to apply for a marker for her deceased veteran husband. Plus, there are others waiting on this approval, including Pentacles for at least three headstones in Arlington Cemetery. Please support this quest with prayers and by spreading the word about this need to others you know who may be interested and in a position to help.” – Selena Fox, Circle Sanctuary

Today on Memorial Day, Roberta Stewart is holding a Freedom for All Faiths Memorial Service, if you wish to send her some words of support you can e-mail her. Let us hope that soon this injustice is corrected, and our Pagan dead fully honored by the country they served.

Entering The Labyrinth

In its ongoing coverage of the Cannes Film Festival, Andrew O’Hehir from Salon.com gives his picks of art films to watch for in the coming year. One in particular looked especially promising for those who enjoy pagan themes in film. I’m speaking of a new dark fantasy film from director Guillermo del Toro (Hellboy, Blade II), entitled “Pan’s Labyrinth”.

Doug Jones as Pan / The Pale Man

“Hands down the most exciting and original film I’ve seen here, and the one that had me in tears during its final scenes. Mexican director Guillermo del Toro is best known as the director of such fanboy classics as “Hellboy,” “Mimic” and “Blade 2,” which are cool enough in their way. “Pan’s Labyrinth” is something else again, and something far more powerful and original. Combining a fully convincing fantasy universe (drawn from a lifelong obsession with classic fairy tales) with a completely realistic story about the endgame of the Spanish Civil War, this film features a heart-rending performance from young Ivana Baquero as Ofelia, the teenage stepdaughter of a vicious Fascist officer (Sergi Lopez), who’s fighting a ragtag band of Republican guerrillas in a remote mountainous area. Ofelia’s ailing mother tells her that she’s too old for fairy tales, but the array of friendly and terrifying creatures she meets in the woods don’t seem to agree. If she can face a series of trials against the various monsters and demons of the region, she can prove herself as the King of the Underworld’s long-lost daughter. But neither the giant evil toad nor the eyeless child-eating gargoyle is as frightening as her stepdad, with his spit-shined shoes, his cracked watch and his revolver.” – Andrew O’Hehir, Salon.com

The man in the Pan-suit Doug Jones gives us this tempting bit of dialogue from the film on his web site.

Ofelia: My name is Ofelia. Who are you?

Pan: Me? I’ve had so many names…Old names that only the wind and the trees can pronounce. I am the mountain, the forest and the earth. I am…I am a faun. Your most humble servant, Your Highness.

The director, Guillermo del Toro, says that this film has been “the single most fulfilling creative experience of my career” and it looks like a wonderful picture. I will definitely be on the lookout for this once it hits American theatres.

Spotlight on Pagan Music

A weekly feature highlighting the best music from Pagan, Pagan – influenced, and occult artists. You can hear many of these artists on my weekly radio show and podcast, or you can check out the annual “Darker Shade of Pagan” music special available for download online.

ABNEY PARK

Abney Park

Band Bio:
Abney Park is a Black Sheep of the Black Clad crowd…
Evocative of both old-world mystery and futuristic technology, Abney Park is a strong and original musical presence in a genre far too used to formula. Music & lyrics both dark and mystical, Abney Park creates an emotional and cerebral world unlike most anything found in the gothic genre today. Ghost stories & Nightmares, myths & magic float in and out of a music that bounces between industrial dance and symphonic epics ? from the dark western forests to the deserts of the far east.

Abney Park web site.
Abney Park MySpace page.

Song download:
“Stigmata Martyr” (Mp3 file)
“The Wrong Side” (Mp3 file)
“Breathe” (Mp3 file)

Abney Park’s song “Witch Cult/Sacrilege” appears on the 6th annual “Darker Shade of Pagan” special available for download, here.

Reviews:
“The delivery of Robert Brown tends to be conspiratorial. He sings of things suggestively with visuals stirring. Of escapes and pursuits, or perils and integrity, like Agent Mulder on Prozac.. I like that a lot. The fact the band have been compared to Garbage strikes me as somewhat lazy, for here the guitars, which all but hum by themselves, are totally controlled, and it’s an evocative feel which spreads and becomes resplendent. Yes, there’s Middle Eastern tangles (where isn?t there these days, it’s almost the new black?), and we get some floatiness, some emptiness, but mainly we get a superb voice beckoning us nearer but then keeping itself one step ahead as we lumber loyally behind it.” – Mick Mercer

“Those who think there’s nothing new, original or creative happening in the world of gothic rock haven’t heard the sounds of Abney Park. As showcased on From Dreams or Angels, their music definitely knows its roots, and can trace a clear line of descent back to the Sisters of Mercy or the Cure. But it’s not content to re-hash what other artists did decades ago; instead, it pushes into the future and creates something unique and new.” – Freak Nation

“As a whole, the band exhibits remarkable compositional and studio skills…New Wave saturates this album, but in a unique and unaffected way. Vocalist and songwriter Robert Brown, gives ABNEY PARK the Gothic feel – his commanding and mysterious vocal style and brooding lyrics keep the album from simply being a retro-80′s throwback…these guys are top-notch musicians creating a mutant variety of ’90′s new wave pop that is sure to catch on.” – EBM.gr

My Two Cents:
A fine darkwave band, Abney Park throws everything they like into the music. Witchcraft, steam-punk, horror, romance, sci-fi, world music, and of course that wonderful gothic/darkwave sound that influences everything else. It took me awhile to “get” them, but then I really started to enjoy what they do. I was especially fond of their short piece “Witch Cult” (which leads into the song “Sacrilege”) and used it to start off my latest Pagan special. A worthy band deserving a higher profile.

Further Reading:
Interview with Abney Park.

(Pagan) News of Note

My semi-regular round-up of articles, essays, and opinions of note for discerning Pagans and Heathens.

First off is some great news for Pagans and Heathens living in England. A recent judicial decision over an improper dismissal has granted official recognition to Odinism/Asatru.

“You will be interested in this ground-breaking judicial decision, giving legal recognition to the Odinist religion in English law, as more fully detailed in the attached Round Robin. For the first time ever, a judicial declaration has stipulated that a pagan religion, namely Odinism, is to be accorded recognition, as a religion, for legal purposes. The legal precedent, established by this case, will help to protect the rights, not only of Odinists, but of all pagans, in the workplace. The Odinist Fellowship is proud of having achieved this breakthrough for the wider pagan community. Thanks be to the gods and goddesses!”

Thanks to Sannion for the heads-up on the story.

The Scotsman.com profiles holistic therapist and organizer of Witchfest Scotland, Pauline Reid. The article seems a bit obsessed with making a linkage between modern Paganism and the goth subculture for some reason.

“But Reid’s Glasgow clients – familiar with seeing a gentle, dark-haired woman without make-up and dressed in clinical white – might be hard put to recognise her after-hours. “I suppose I do like to blow out and look a bit Goth when I’m relaxing with like-minded people,” she says. More than just Goth. Reid is a practising witch…Many embrace Celtic beliefs, some personify the gothic, others veer towards the more mythological interpretations of witchcraft.”

The Washington Blade profiles a new book about the spiritual lives of black gays and lesbians entitled “Spirited: Affirming the Soul and Black Gay/Lesbian Identity”. The book moves outside the traditional monotheist identities and looks at practitioners of modern Paganism as well.

“‘Born Baptist, I now identify myself as a witch and the child of the orishas,’ writes metro D.C. resident Monique Meadows. She describes Wicca as a path toward self-love and says it teaches her to revere and celebrate ‘the sanctity of nature, the mystery of the Earth and my body.’”

Looking to entertain your Druid friends at your next party? Marty Rosen may have found the recipe for you.

“Barry Brakeville of Lenexa, Kan., offers a whimsical dish called Twinkiehenge — a circle of Twinkies standing in a bowl of chocolate pudding. A perfect dessert when your Druid friends are coming by to celebrate the Summer Solstice.”

In a final note, we encounter a strange sort of blasphemy on Mount Everest of all places. It seems a Sherpa by the name of Lapka Tharke Sharpa agreed to pose for nude photographs at the peak of the mountain. This caused great shock for Ang Tshering Sherpa, president of the Nepal Mountaineering Association who thinks legal action should be taken against the young man.

“It’s very shocking news because Mount Everest is regarded as a divine Mother of the Earth to the Nepali people. If some of these people stand on the goddess mountain naked, then it’s not appropriate.”

So remember, never stand naked on the goddess (unless she asks you to), and try to avoid exposing your naked flesh to temperatures as low as minus 25C (-13F). On that chilly note, I end this post. Have a good day!

Two Spiritual Worlds

The Minneapolis/St. Paul City Pages compares and contrasts the spiritual worlds of two musical artists, Daniel Smith and David Tibet. Both artists embrace some form of Christian thought but there the two figures wildly diverge.

“Cults, by definition, need not just a charismatic and enigmatic figurehead, but also a devoted legion of believers. Persistence pays off in getting the message out there; just look how long it took Jesus…Daniel Smith, who records as the Danielson Famile, Tri-Danielson, and just Danielson, kicked off his own cultdom with a Rutgers senior project-turned-debut album, A Prayer for Every Hour…Smith’s cult status has grown, even while he himself remains childish when addressing his Christian faith.”

While Daniel Smith approaches Christianity with a simple almost childlike temperament, David Tibet, while also singing about Christianity, does so from a very different perspective. Tibet’s faith is obsessed with eschatology, and is influenced by mysticism (this includes a long-running interest in Aleister Crowley, and Tibetan Buddhism).

“The central voice, of course, is that of Tibet, a portentous and feral device falling somewhere between Johnny Rotten’s mewl and the projection of a bit player in Macbeth. Tibet too, deals with occult forces, this mortal coil, Lazarus, and other lost deities as his band plies a strange and moldered strain of folk much like what might emanate out of Stonehenge or a witch’s cove.”

While some might say that this shows the elasticity of the Christian faith, I instead think it shows a pre-modern/post-modern split in thinking about religion. Smith’s faith is simple, direct, and exists as a lone truth. Tibet’s view is pluralistic and inclusive, willing to take inspiration from outside spiritual and mystic traditions, and open to working with wildly variant faith practitioners. It is the world of one truth versus the world of many truths; one is open to a world where modern Paganism exists and one (despite how “liberal” it becomes) is not.